Aftermath
by nhannah
Summary: A dark, twisted story that begins at the end, right after Uchiha Sasuke defeats his older brother. Immerse yourself in this dramatic tale of romance and sorrow – because everyone knows that happy endings never really exist.


**Summary: **A dark, twisted story that begins at the end, right after Uchiha Sasuke defeats his older brother. Immerse yourself in this dramatic tale of romance and sorrow – because everyone knows that happy endings never really exist.

**Author's Note: **This is, literally, the longest ever first chapter that I've ever made. I don't know where its taking me, and I don't know what I'm doing. Follow me as, together, we embark on a journey where the author herself does not control anything that happens.

A great writer once said, "Write only what you yourself would read." I hope this meets my standards.

Enjoy (and review).

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Prologue

_Once upon a time there lived a young girl named Haruno Sakura. Plain and average in every aspect known to man, this child often deemed herself worthless – hiding herself in the very back of the class; making up for her failure as a ninja by only her perfect scores in basic theory. One day – an average day, for this young girl – her life changed forever when Sakura met another little girl. Sakura, though the two had never really spoken, knew her as the brightest, funniest, coolest kid in class. The one who sat right up front, before their teacher. The one with not-so-perfect scores, but pretty satisfying skills. The ultimate female ninja._

'_Hello, my name is Yamanaka Ino. What's yours?'_

_And from that day forth, both Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura grew into being the best of friends... atleast, until young teenhood, when a handsome, brooding young boy named Uchiha Sasuke stepped into their lives – that was when both Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino begun to understand the thrill of rivalry; the one true thing that had ever torn their friendship apart._

_Now, although both friends were terribly smitten to him, had practically sacrificed their bond just for the sake of him, and had done everything in their power to ever come close to catching his attention, this Uchiha Sasuke – destroyer of friendships – never gave them the time of day. He had other things to care about where both Ino and Sakura had time concoct up new, more inovative ways for him to look their way and realize how deeply, passionately in love he was to either one of them._

_Uchiha Sasuke, at the young age of seven, was what fully-grown ninja's considered as an avenger._

_His one, true meaning in life was to gain enough power to "kill a certain man"._

_Now, if there was ever anyone who was the complete opposite of Haruno Sakura, our main female protagonist in this tale of friendship, romance and intense drama, it would, indeed, be Uchiha Sasuke._

_Where Sakura failed in her physical training, was plain, ordinary, and always second best to her ultimate rival, Uchiha Sasuke was strong, a prodigy, exceeding, and never below his general perfect score as the top student in the entire academy._

_One day – another one day in Sakura's pretty limited list of life-changing one days – Sakura once again found her life changed forevermore. The day Sakura had been teamed up with her love interest, Sakura found that she was on top of the world. That this, definitely, was her chance to outshine Ino, and to prove to her darling Sasuke that she was all he ever needed in his life, that together, their love would, alone, surpass any obstacle._

_Yet, as Sakura soon grew into finding, the chance pairing with her 'soul-mate' did nothing to even slightly better the enormous gap between them. Even on his team, Sakura was just the nobody. The plain one, behind even the last person in class, the dork, Uzumaki Naruto._

_But if there was one thing Sakura ever had that earned her some degree of credibility, it was presistancy._

_She never stopped to think that she and Sasuke would not end up together. She never stopped on her journey to better herself. Never allowed sorrow to dig into her. Denied, even, the possibility of returning to her former position as the unpopular, hardly worth looking at little girl with perfect theory-marks and an enormous forehead._

_And so, with only her will to guide her, Sakura carried on: using every trick in the book to make sure Sasuke would, atleast, show some hint of warmth in her direction. That alone, Sakura knew, would be enough to prove to herself that, yes, she was worth at least a little consideration._

'_Thank you.'_

_Those were the only meaningful words she had ever gotten from him, til this day. He had left her, she knew, and probably for good if she, Naruto, her sensei, Kakashi, and the rest of Konoha did not try to yank him back._

_But presistancy, Sakura also knew, was never a bad thing. And so she would continue to work and better herself, making herself strong, stronger and stronger even still til the day Sasuke would come home – take one good look at her, and realize that she was all he ever needed in his life._

_And about five years since his betrayal to the village, Uchiha Sasuke did indeed come home; with, also, the completion of his first and ultimate goal on his back. _

_Now, here they were. Together, finally. With their child, the next great Uchiha prodigy to carry his line, still waiting to be born so that, finally, her darling Sasuke would be able to complete both his goals._

_And so, together, their love surpassing any danger that stood forth, Sakura and Sasuke lived happily..._

Rain.

_...ever..._

Lightning.

_...after..._

Death.

_...If only that had been the case._

Uchiha Sasuke stood with his face lifted, thrust upwards to face the sky; the edge of his blade hanging, only millimetres, away from the chest of a now lifeless Uchiha Itachi. The rain splattered heavily against his skin, draining off the excess blood that ran down his wettened flesh, causing his hair to fall flat against the back of his neck.

_This is real life..._

The corpse of Sasuke's older brother lay motionless; the wind carrying his thick, signature Akatsuki cloak mercilessly. The blood that now stained the only living Uchiha's hands were not his own, he realized, but the blood of the man he had, for so long, yearned to drench his hands in – the blood of the man who had slayed his entire clan. The man he hated with so much passion. The man who had, just moments before his death, actually had the audacity to smirk at him.

'**Congratulations, little brother.'**

Sasuke's eyes, a moment before his blade had been thrust forwards, deep into the chest of his only living relative, widened fractionally beneath all the hazy darkness that, at the time, had enveloped him.

'**You wanted to surpass me. My plan worked – so now you finally did.'**

'_YOUR plan?' _thought Sasuke, now frigid with disbelief.

His brother, even on the brink of death, smirked – that awful, infamous smirk that drove the younger Uchiha wild.

'**How does it feel... to be me?'**

And then...

...He died.

Sasuke screamed, realizing that his blade had never made that final blow. That, even in death, his brother had managed to out-smart him. That the final words of his soul-purpose in life were not those of which he wished to hear. The satisfaction he had always dreamed about would never come. That his brother, predicting everything from the day Sasuke had witnessed his betrayal, to the moment he had died, had, once again, managed to yank him by the collar like the weaker, far more insignificant child that he was.

Uchiha Itachi, even in death, had won.

A slow, mocking clap was heard. Followed by another, and another.

Sasuke turned – his grief yanked out of him by surprise – to the shadows where a man, his expression sly and cruel on his snake-like face, emerged, clapping for his apprentices' triumph.

'Congratulations, Sasuke-kun,' drawled Orochimaru, appearing before Sasuke to place a hand on his shoulder. 'You've finally managed to achieve what your heart so longingly desired. You must be... ecstatic.'

Sasuke's eyes, as if seeing for the first time since approaching the man for guidance, shuttered to a close as his master licked his lips.

'Its not as satisfying as I thought it would be,' replied the only living Uchiha, truthfully, still not bearing to look his source of power in the eye.

'Oh, come now,' said Orochimaru, with a grin that befitted his snakey appearance. 'You must be overwhelmed at the moment. Satisfaction will come to you, sooner or later. But now that that's settled, I think we have another half of the agreement to conclude.' The snake-man wove his working arm in an exaggerated gesture for Sasuke to follow him. 'Come, my apprentice,' he hissed. 'It is time you help out your poor master.'

A shiver ran down Sasuke's spine – like a bucket of ice had just been washed down his back to top off the all ready freezing rain.

Sasuke found that he was unable to resist; the hilt of his katana loosening from his grip, only to fall to the earth in a series of clattering noises. Above him, another burst of lightning sliced through the starless midnight sky. A roll of thunder soon followed, sounding distrusting, almost, like a warning to the once-proud Konoha prodigy of the dangers he might face if he were to follow his master.

Uchiha Sasuke, his white kimono washed in blood, grime and rain-water, his hair no longer perfectly upheld, his coal-coloured eyes glazed and traumatized, his skin paler than ever, lips cracked, chest heaving, arms shaking, legs unstable, moved on his own accord; straight into the darkness, where Orochimaru, his tongue tasting more victory than Sasuke, in his triumph of demolishing his troubled past ever had, beckoned, grinning slyly.

Then the world closed over. A howl of agony spread through the surrounding area.

And so, in a matter of seconds, went the last living Uchiha.

_...there are no happy endings.

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_

**Aftermath

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**

Chapter I: Endings

'_Hello? Is anyone there?' _

_Haruno Sakura, aged seventeen, was trapped in what seemed to her like a never-ending vortex of complete and utter darkness._

'_Hello?' she tried again, her voice bouncing off non-existant walls and creating a sort of strange, gradually magnifying echo. 'Is anyone – aah!'_

_Sakura found herself face-to-face with spinning crimson eyes, a pale, emotionless face, and a mass of jet-black hair to crown it all with._

'_W-who are you?' she stuttered, after moments of fumbling to find her words._

_The man – Sakura was sure it was a man – smiled bitterly; though his eyes showed no sign of emotion both the same. 'You've forgotten me so easily... Sakura?'_

_Sakura gave the man a quizzical look, not exactly understanding. 'I'm afraid not...' she found herself saying. 'Have we met?'_

_The man's smile faded, and his eyes – a deep shade of burgundy – spun quicker still; its spinning reaching a climax of rediculous speed before it slowed, carefully fading itself into an endless hole of coal blackness._

'_Sasuke-kun?!' cried the young woman, completely taken-aback. 'How... why...?'_

_Sakura's dear "Sasuke-kun" placed a finger to her lip, silencing her almost immediately. His eyes were hazy as he looked at her. 'Sakura,' he said, in that same tone of voice she had, for so long, forgotten since he had left her, five years ago, to sleep on the bench overlooking the rest of their village. 'Listen to me.' His voice held urgency unlike anything she had ever heard from him before. He seemed... frightened, almost. 'I've managed to kill my brother, but Orochimaru wants my body as his vassal in return.'_

_Sakura gasped, eyes stinging with unshed tears, praying with all her might that her Sasuke-kun wasn't about to say what she'd think he'd say._

_Sasuke's black eyes stared seriously into her own emerald ones. 'Sakura, I'm going to die.'_

_A flow of tears ran down either side of Sakura's blood-drained cheeks, and she gasped once again for breath. 'Sasuke-kun --!' she started, but was once again silenced by his finger._

'_Don't bother looking for me,' he added, dead serious once more. 'There is nothing neither you nor Naruto can do can do for me now. I'm practically dead as it is.'_

_A thought struck Sakura, and taking this oppurtunity as her chance to speak, Sakura quickly blabbered, 'But, Sasuke-kun, I'm a medic now. Tsunade-sama has been teaching me to ressurect dead patients and—'_

_The look Sasuke now gave her was dismissive._

'_Sasuke-kun...'_

_Sasuke placed another hand to cup itself around Sakura's chin, lifting her upwards to re-face him in the eye. _

_Sakura gasped as, staring into that cold pair of darkness that usually held no mercy, realized what now hung to them was..._

_Warmth._

'_Gomenasai,' whispered Sasuke, catching her lips with his own – just as casually, just as confidently as she dreamt he would._

_And then..._

Sakura jolted upright, the warmth of Sasuke's lips easing into the blistering cold of the morning wind. Tears were still running down her face, she noticed, and she was shivering almost completely – even beneath her bed-spreads.

'Sakura-chan?'

Sakura jumped in her seat, turning to the source of the voice.

It was Naruto, her best friend and remaining team-mate, looking worried as he stood outside her window-sill, waiting for her to get dressed so that, together, they could make their was to Ichiraku's, as they always did.

Her dreaming of Sasuke had lost her so incredibly that she had almost forgotten the fact that this was just another, ordinary day. And that, on other ordinary days such as these, Naruto would come by and fetch her for breakfast, and the two would begin chattering about nonsence all day long, until a mission or some restraining order was made to separate the two good friends.

'Naruto,' said Sakura, staring blearily at the blonde with puffy, red eyes.

Naruto immediately jumped into the room, rushing to the aid of his old crush and embracing her in a soothing matter. 'Sakura-chan, whats wrong?' he asked, as he held her against him, not caring as her tears dampened his clothes.

It took a while before the words finally came out, but when it did, she had said it in such a flurry that Sakura was forced to repeat it once more to a slowly comprehending Naruto.

'Sasuke-teme...' began Naruto, eyes glazed as he stared right through her. 'he can't be.'

'Naruto, you've got to believe me!' cried Sakura, looking into the sapphire gems of her best friend's eyes. 'H-He told me himself. He killed Uchiha Itachi, and now he's going to get himself killed by Orochimaru!'

Naruto inhaled – trying to think rasionally for a moment; ignoring the fact that, to either side of him, his fists were shivering to furious life. 'Its possible,' he managed, talking slowly to calm down his female team-mate. 'That it was just a normal dream.'

'It wasn't, Naruto,' said Sakura, whispering as she snuggled into his chest; saddened by the fact that, not only was one of her team-mates dead, but another one of them was reluctant to believe her. 'I just know it.'

Naruto rose to his feet, collecting a very shocked Sakura in his arms as he did so.

'Naruto, what...?'

The blond did not face her as he muttered, almost silently under his breath, 'We're going to save him.' After all, he didn't want her to freak out anymore than she all ready was when she noticed the unmistakable Kyuubi-glint in his otherwise blue coloured eyes.

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**Author's Note**: Okay. What was that?! And what on earth is this going to turn up to be?! Arrgh. I just killed Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi in the same chapter, forced Sakura into a state of complete trauma, wound up feeling like a NaruSaku, and ended it with a _cliffie!!_

Seriously, people. I don't know whats to become of me. But, whatever. Tell me if you like, and I'll see where it goes. Review.


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